Why timely follow up is critical
A series of steps you have to do
Now you are successfully capturing leads, the key is to make sure you follow up on all of them in a timely manner. The most common mistake for many schools is the failure to have adequate follow up because they are time poor and lack the systems to automate the process. This is exacerbated when the volume of inquiries is high, like at a major school event, where you need systems and processes in place to make sure you respond quickly.
Always follow up
No matter the inquiry you need to be sure to follow up as it is a strong indicator of your brand. You certainly don’t want families saying, “Oh, I reached out to that school, but they never got back to me.” Conversely, having someone be amazed at how well you follow up can have a markedly different impact. For example, with event registrations a simple courtesy is for all families to receive a personalized email acknowledging their interest.
Send your email with a purpose
In fact, anytime you send an email it should always come with a call-to-action. Consider the following email sequence for a family who registers to attend a School Tour.
Thanks for registering email
Sent to confirm that you received their registration. If you want to boost attendance ratios and reduce ‘no- shows’, include a calendar invite with the original email.
The critical reminder email
It’s always good practice to send thank you emails to those who attended, but equally as well send a ‘sorry-we-missed-you’ emails to those that could not make it.
Post event follow-up email
Send a friendly reminder the day before the event so they remember to attend along with any last minute pieces of advice - like where to park etc.
Use technology to automate these tasks
Most schools simply don’t do these things as they are too time consuming or complex, this is where technology comes into its own.
You have to make sure that for any web form completed or inquiry made, you follow- up automatically: technology can do this. Have a simple email sequence (a series of pre-written emails) for event registrations, and another for general inquiry forms that are sent automatically.
Enquiry Tracker automates this process for you entirely, from instant sign-up forms on your website to automated drip emails. We feel it is critical that all participants get personalized, school-branded emails along with a calendar invite so they don’t forget. There is no better way to get your relationship off to a solid start than with timely follow up!
